Duckys
by Elielephant
Summary: Bones's one-year anniversary one-shot.


This is the one year anniversary one-shot for Bones. Instead of doing a chapter, I decided to just do a little separate one shot. It's an AU and is supposed to be cute, I hope. I had my beta (praeses) looked over it for me and she says it was cute, but everyone's opinion is different, right?

Now, before the story starts, I want to explain the title 'duckys' because that was a question that my beta brought up. At my college there are ducks, a lot of them. On my way to class one day, I almost stepped on one of these ducks on accident (but the duck is okay, so don't worry animal lovers). Thus, inspiration was born. :D

Disclaimer: I do not own anything One Piece.

* * *

Duckys.

The ducks were bundled into bunches under the thick shadow of a tiny sapling with withered red and yellow leafs by the mossy colored pond, their little feathered bodies huddled close together for warmth. It was earlier October so the weather was getting nippy, snapping out its cold tongue at the living because it was bitterly waiting for winter to settle in. Though it was colder than it should have been for an early October Sunday morning since, of course, the ducks were still there, sitting in the short grass like a pack of penguins conserving heat from the nasty wind. Some of the feathered birds' heads rose from resting along their sides and they quacked back to the burly winds, the distinct sound echoing as more ducks joined the call until there was a chorus coming from the pack of birds and also their ducklings.

The little baby ducklings would chirp in that high pitched tone rather than the low quack that their parents made, flapping their tinny wings as they extended their necks high in the air, trying to reach the level with the sound the elders of the group made. It was a cute sound that the ducklings made; it was a sound that he always loved since he was young. His mama had taken him to this park everyday since he was an infant. The sound of the older ducks would scare him since the note was loud and long to his baby ears, but the sound of a duckling was different. It was a sound, though high pitched, that something had always put a smile on his face, as his mama had told him.

He wanted to go see them up close, but when he tried to walk towards them, there was a force that pulled him back. His papa's hand held firm to his, which allowed him no escape to see the little ducklings, so he was forced to watch from afar.

Examining the scene from over the thick scarf that covered his mouth, and also constricted his neck, he saw that a small group of ducklings had left the main pack of ducks, traveling away from their parents safety and waddled closer to the murky waters, like they wanted to take an experimental swim to see if the water was just as cold as the weather around them.

That made him want to leave his papa's side all the more, so much that he began to struggle against his papa's iron grip, pushing at the tanned tattooed fingers with his free hand. When the fingers would not budge, he began to whine childishly for release, using his full body weight to pull down on the large hand, but his papa did not so much as flinch from his calm composure as he spoke with an off duty doctor from the hospital that was also taking a walk in the park. All his papa did was squeeze his hand; a warning to stop his childish acts even though he was only a mere child still, four years old to be exact.

So he stopped, puffing his cheeks out as he huffed in annoyed disappointment that his papa wouldn't let go and he stuffed his free hand deep within his thick winter jacket's pocket so he wouldn't be tempted to continue to try and shove his papa's hand away. Sure, his papa really only got to see him once a week since he was always at the hospital working; he was known as one of the best surgeons in the city, though, he thought his papa was the best surgeon in the world, along with his uncle. On the days that he couldn't see his papa, he would try and wake up early in the morning to at least wish his papa a farewell, but that never worked out since his mama didn't like it when he woke up at five in the morning apparently. So, he tried to stay up until his papa came home that night, but his young body couldn't handle staying up past seven o'clock, even when he had a three hour nap that day, just for the purpose of staying up later.

So he learned to deal with seeing his papa only once a week; Sunday was their special day, father-son bonding, as his mama would call it. With that in mind, his papa took that seriously, making sure that everything that dealt with work was not in the Sunday equation; though the doctor he was speaking to in the park just so happened to be a coincident and it wasn't as bad since both of them weren't on duty…yet they still only talked about what happened at the hospital.

It seemed confusing in his eyes, but he shook the thoughts from his mind; this didn't have to do with his papa's work, this had to do with seeing the ducklings, which in truth would only take a minute, two minutes tops. His papa could let him see the ducklings for that long, right? It wasn't that bad, but if it bothered his papa that much then his papa could come see the ducklings with him. That way they all won in the end: his papa got to spend all their time together like every Sunday and he got to see the ducklings still, which just so happened to be his favorite animal.

He decided that he should tell his papa this, but both his mama and papa said that is was rude to interrupt anyone while they were talking with someone else, but this was important. In his mind, at least. So, removing his hand from his pocket, he started to tug on his papa's sleeve, the black fur shifting as it was pulled by his tiny fingers trapped inside a pair of small mittens. But his papa still ignored him, though there was a tight squeeze to his small hand once more.

"Papa…" He finally spoke up, though against his better judgment and what he was taught by his parents, and he was rewarded by his father's silence as he simply listened to the other doctor talking about a curious rash his patient had the other day. "Papa…!" He whined, his voice rising in volume as he continued to tug on his papa's sleeve roughly to gain his full attention.

His papa seemed to have had enough with the way he was acting and broke away from the conversation with the other doctor, going down on one knee so he was looking him right in the eyes. There was a soft scowl on his papa's face, shadowed lightly by the white, brown spotted cap atop his head that hide most all of his short hair except for the hair running along his jaw and the small patch at his chin.

He had always been curious on how his papa could get his hair to grow in such a way on his face, and he also asked how he could make his own hair do the same, but his papa told him he had to wait until puberty. That, of course, led his curious mind to ask what puberty was, and that was when his mama cut in sharply, saying he was _way_ too young to be getting '_the talk_'. Though, his papa said that there was no such thing because he, himself, had learned much about puberty from his mother's medical texts when he was merely six years old, which meant that giving his own son '_the talk_' wasn't all that bad and would probably be better to do it now because then he wouldn't have to go through the awkward stages of confronting his parents about embarrassing issues when he was older since at a young age, he was curious about almost everything.

…

His mama didn't like his papa's well thought out answer and he slept on the couch that night.

The memories were jolted away from his mind as he felt his papa grabbing his shoulders, snapping his attention to the pair of gleaming grey irises that stared into his blue-grey ones with mild anger for the behavior he was using.

But though his papa was upset, he still remained calm as he spoke. "What is it?"

"I—I—" He started to say, but he never liked the scolding look his papa would give him, so he glanced down at his feet, trying to avoid the glare. "I wanted to see the duckys…" he finally mumbled, pointing a single finger in the direction of the ducklings still stumbling around the edge of the pond.

His papa glanced over to the side, his eyes scanning the scene of the tiny birds chirping to each other at the side of the water. The baby birds were chasing each other in a game of tag, some tumbling over others that couldn't keep up with their siblings until they were all trying to get out of the tangled mess of feathers they created. His papa still hadn't said a word, his eyes moving away from the ducklings and to something behind them, making him press his lips into a thin line of thought. Then he finally said: "Alright."

He smiled at the answer his papa gave him, but before he could run off to see the duckling, his papa tightened his grip on his shoulders to keep him in place.

"But stay away from the water," he added on sternly, making it an official order like a captain would give his crew.

He nodded his head towards his papa's demands, making the hat atop his head topple over his eyes and it was sloppily pushed back up to his forehead and then he raced off to the pond to see the ducklings. Doing as his papa told him, he stayed clear of the water, watching the duckling from afar, but closer, with a large smile.

The little birds looked fluffy, like they were furry rather than feathery. It was like one of the many stuffed animals on his bed, so fluffy that he just wanted to cuddle the object of interest until it could no longer be hugged. His mama always said that he had a soft spot for fuzzy things like his papa did, though his papa would always grunt, denying the fact. That made him wonder if his papa truly liked fuzzy things, maybe if he brought over a duckling to his papa…then he could see if it was true.

Doing exactly what his papa told him not to, he walked closer to the water, his head showing up in the reflection of the water, the fuzzy white, brown spotted hat that was similar to his papa's cap bounced as he continued to stalk, sneaking up on the ducklings from behind until he was so close that he could touch them. A warm feeling fluttered inside his stomach like butterflies as he reached down to pick up one of the ducklings and the baby bird started to chirp frantically when in his mitten covered hand, wiggling around in his grasp desperate for escape, but he just couldn't like the duckling go. He rubbed the tiny body against his cheek feeling the feathers against his skin; it was so warm and he couldn't wait to show his papa.

But the thought ended quickly when the cry of the baby bird was drowned out by a loud quacking in the background and he whipped his head around to see a very angry mama duck coming to her baby's aid. His eyes opened wide at the seer size of the bird charging him, her wings spread out to make her look even larger and he promptly dropped the duckling in his hands, turning around to run and screamed all the way.

Then he felt his toe clip against the hard surface of stone by the ponds edge as he tried to escape the mother's duck protective rage and he started to go for the water, but before he broke the inky green surface, he heard the familiar voice of his papa yelling his name.

"_Tanner!_"

And that was the last thing he heard when his head went under, feeling the water swarm around his tiny form violently. The pond's edge was deeper than he thought it would be; he felt like a sinking stone, especially since he didn't know how to swim. But then strong arms wrapped around his stomach and he was hoisted through the water until he resurfaced in a coughing fit.

"Damnit, Tanner!" He heard his papa's voice once more, his tone full of rage and he felt his papa pull him up awkwardly so his small back was pressed against his papa's large chest. "I told you not to go near the water! You know you can't swim yet!"

Tanner felt miserable. He was wet, cold, scared and now his papa was scolding him sharply in a way that he hated. All he wanted to do was bring a duckling to his papa to see if he actually did like fuzzy things; that was it. Though he couldn't find the words to say that to his papa and all that came out was: "_I'm sorry!_" and he started to sob, tears collecting at the corner of his eyes; he hated to cry, but he just couldn't help it. He was still only a child, a four year old to be exact. He was allowed to cry when he felt like he needed to, as his mama had told him.

There was a thick sigh that came from his papa and Tanner found himself being lifted up higher into the air, twisting around so he could comfortably be held by his papa. "Let's go home," his papa mumbled under his breath as he carried him back to the car, saying a quick farewell to the other doctor before they left.

The car ride was slow, the autumn trees passing by in clumps with a house dotting in between every now and then until houses with a single tree in a front yard was all he saw. Tanner shifted uncomfortably in his car seat, a deep frown forming on his lips as he felt the water seeping deeper into his skin, causing a chill. He shook violently even when his papa had blasted the heat to the maximum so that the warm air would dry him quicker, but only for it to fail. By the time they got home, Tanner was still dripping wet with the thick smelling pond water and now his papa was also getting wet because he had been carrying him the entire time since he got out of the pond.

Tanner wrapped his tiny arms around his papa's neck, though he felt slightly guilty for getting him all wet, but the body heat was helping him feel better. When they went through the front door, there was the noisy sound of barking echoing from the other rooms and the little clicks of tiny nails on the hard wood floor.

His papa's groaned as his feet were bombarded with their new little puppy's, Loki's, teeth, the little fur ball trying to growl menacingly, but his small size and high pitched whine did nothing to help it. If anything, it was cute, but to his papa, it was annoying since Loki did this every time he walked through any door, may it be front, back or even the garage door. For some reason, Loki didn't like his papa and no one could answer that question but Loki himself.

Through the snappy whine of Loki, Tanner heard the loud _'woof'_ that belonged to the massive canine known as Bepo and the fuzzy white beast strolled calmly to his master. Tanner had known Bepo all his life, apparently his papa got the dog when he was a child and still had him to this day. Bepo was a rather old dog, but there was still a fire to him since he could easily fend off the tiny puppy from biting his master mercilessly by growling darkly, showing off his sharp teeth until Loki dashed away yelping in fright at the sight.

His papa would usually reward Bepo for doing that, giving the large canine a treat since his papa didn't like Loki one bit; the only reason why they had Loki was because his mama found the puppy abandoned on the side of the road. His papa had been okay with it at first and of course he changed his mind rather quickly after the first few days, but it was too late by then since the puppy was already welcomed by all except for his papa.

Bepo, on the other hand, seemed to have mixed feelings about the puppy, whether to like him or not, but Bepo did like getting his treats and today was no different. He sat patiently at his master's feet, waiting to get his reward, but today _was_ different and all the massive canine got was a pat on the head with a small '_good boy_'.

Tanner looked over his papa's shoulder to see that Bepo was quite upset with what he got, the large canine's head hanging low with disappoint as he whined loudly. Tanner couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Bepo, but in the end, his papa was too concerned with him catching a cold from being in chilly weather while wet, so his papa hurried up the steps to the bathroom.

As the warm water was slowly filling into the tub, his papa left the room for a moment to get him new clothes and Tanner was left there feeling quite uneasy in the bathroom. He wasn't even in the water yet and he had the dreaded feeling that he always had before he took a bath. Glancing nervously over the side, he saw under the stream of heavy water coming down from the faucet was the drain. He never liked the drain, not after what happened to one of his smaller rubber duckys when it was mercilessly thrown into the swirling whirlpool that the drain created. Ever since then, Tanner had hated the drain, his mind coming up with the conclusion that if one of his little rubber duckys went down the drain, then little old him could as well.

But his mama had found away to settle his fears, but only for a few minutes. Bubbles; that is what she used. For the first few minutes, the drain was covered with foamy white bubbles and he couldn't see the drain, which made him feel far more comfortable, but the bubbles wouldn't last forever. That's about the time he would beg his mama to let him out and she usually gave in rather quickly, but only because he was already clean.

So, he had to get the bubblebath out. Heading over to the cabinet under the sink, he pulled out the pink bottle with the smiling cartoon bubbles on the front and then he went over to the tub. Then he uncapped the bottle, pouring the dark pink liquid into the tub and he continued to pour it in since the more added, the more bubbles, and the more bubbles, the more the drain was covered.

"_Tanner,_" his name was called sharply from behind and he felt the presence of his papa crouch down and then tattooed fingers snatched the bottle from his tiny hands. "Not so much," and then he put the bottle back in its proper place under the sink. Then his papa helped him undress, tossing the drenched clothes away in a pile in the corner of the small room and when the water was just the right height, though it was hard to tell with all the bubbles, his papa placed him in the tub.

Tanner wiggled in the warmer than average water in the tub; his mama would usually test the water before she placed him in, but at least the water wasn't scalding hot. His skin felt the sensation of heat that hit the chilled nerves of his bones, making him shiver at the change, but he got used to it easily. Though there was still one thing missing and his papa seemed to know what that was and he looked under the skin next to the bubble bath and pulled out a mesh bag filled with Tanner's rubber ducky collection.

Tanner practically squealed in delight as his papa poured the rubber duckys from the bag over top of him, making it like it was raining ducks on him. The little rubber birds, plopped down in the bubbles, making mini explosions that caused the bubbles to go everywhere. He couldn't help but giggle as he was covered in bubbled now and the scene made his papa chuckle lightly and he moved down on one knee to ruffle Tanner's damp hair, but then his papa shifted from his crouched position by the side of the tub and started to head for the door.

"Where're you going?" Tanner questioned, his tiny fingers clinging to the edge of the tub. He didn't like being left alone in the bathtub; what if he got sucked down the drain? Then there would be no one to save him.

"I'm going to change," his papa answered, looking over his shoulder. "It'll only take a second, I'll be right back," and he turned to head out the door once more.

"_No!_" Tanner shouted, almost jumping out of the tub at the thought of being left alone, which made his papa stop, turning around fully, his brow rising with interest. That made a small blush cross Tanner's cheeks since his papa was pretty much only home one day of the week, he didn't know that Tanner was slightly afraid of being in the tub, especially when alone. So he slowly sat back down in the water, his hands moving along the bubbly surface sheepishly as he thought of something to say for be didn't want to tell his papa he was scared. "You could come in, too," he commented quietly, hoping that his papa wouldn't ask why.

But of course his papa didn't leave it at that; he never did. "You're a big boy, you don't need me joining you," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But…" Tanner started to say, leaning in close to the edge of the tub and placed his nose on the slippery surface. "I don't like being in the bathtub alone…"

"Why?" His papa asked curiously.

"Because…" Tanner stuttered, looking up at his papa as he tapped his tiny fingers against the tub's edge. "I'm scared I'll be sucked down the drain…"

His papa was silent, blinking his eyes as he stared back at him when he heard what the problem was. "That's physically impossible, Tanner," was all his papa said.

Though he knew that his papa was probably right, for his papa was always right, but still…old habits die hard. His fear may not be a habit, per say, but still, fears still die hard just like habits. So he looked up at his papa's blank stare, his eyes large and his brows furrowed together to make the same expression that Loki does when he wants table scarps at dinner. "Please."

The look on his papa's face remained stoic for a moment until he sighed, his shoulders rising and falling as he closed his eyes. Then he ran his tanned, tattooed fingers through his short black hair and said: "Just this once."

Tanner was fine with that, one time was better than being left all alone in the most dangerous part of the bathroom: the tub with its unexpecting drain that could suck him down at any moment, no matter what his papa told him.

Once his papa was stripped down and in the tub, sitting on the side closest to the drain so that Tanner didn't have to be anywhere near it, much less see it once the bubbles were gone, he went on to show his papa his collection of rubber duckys.

Over the four years of his young life, he had gotten so many rubber duckys from relatives and friends, friends of his mama and papa; Sal always gave him the best ones. They were the ones that were based off of special characters; like cowboys, soldiers, Indians and Tanner's favorite, pirates. Though his all time favorite rubber ducky would be the one that his Uncle Luffy had gotten when he was traveling around the world; it was a special rubber ducky, that is what Uncle Luffy had told him. All he had to do was hold it under the water for a short period of time and then it would shoot out of the water like a rocket. It was cool; Tanner had done it a few times before, and it scared the living daylights out of his mama every time.

Tanner couldn't wait to show his papa the spectacular sight, but then his papa reached up to pull down a bottle of shampoo from the shower's shelve, and Tanner didn't need to think twice about what his papa had in mind. "_No~,_" he whined, leaning backwards to avoid the hands covered in sudsy shampoo.

"I need to wash your hair, Tanner," his papa sighed, leaning forward to reach him, though his papa didn't have to reach far since he was so much bigger than him. "Or else you'll smell like the pond all day."

"Then you have to wash you're hair, too!" Tanner countered, pointing a tiny finger up at his papa's nose.

_Pop!_

Tanner completely forgot he was holding his rocket rubber ducky under the water still and the pressure was so intense that when he let only one of his hands go, the toy shot out of the water and high into the air until it came back down, bouncing right off his papa's head. His papa flinched every so slightly when the rubber ducky came down on his head, the toy bird squeaking as it did so. Then there was silence except for the sound of the rocket ducky plopping down in the bubbly water again, but then Tanner roared with laughter, finding the whole scene to be very humorous.

His papa just sighed, using this window of opportunity to wash Tanner's hair when he was preoccupied with laughing over his rocket rubber ducky hitting his papa in the head. It was only when his papa dipped Tanner's head underwater did the boy notice that his papa successfully washed his hair and a feeling of defeat overcame him and he hung his head low.

His papa simply chuckled lightly, placing a hand on Tanner's head and ruffled his wet hair. "Hmm," his papa then hummed. "You should get a hair cut," and he moved back the locks of black hair between his fingers so it was out of Tanner's eyes.

"It's not that long," Tanner countered, shaking his head to remove his papa's hand and to make the longer than normal short locks shoot out into all different angles. "And I like my hair longer. It means I don't look like you all the time."

His papa's thin brow rose in curiosity to the statement. "What do you mean by that?"

"I want to be me," Tanner answered simply. "Not you."

For as long as he could remember, Tanner had always been called his papa's mini. They looked alike according to everyone. They had the same skin tone, though Tanner thought that his skin looked to be a lighter shade than his papa's. They had the same hair style, though Tanner liked to keep his hair longer. And their eyes were a grey shade, though Tanner had more of a blueish tint to his. All these things made him slightly different from his papa, but Tanner couldn't change the fact that their facial structure was identical, thus, that was the biggest factor that made him his papa's mini. Not that he didn't like looking like his papa, but there was just something that he didn't like when he was always compared to him; it annoyed Tanner since it happened whenever he was seen with his papa.

His papa looked at him even more curious than before and then a small smirk crossed his lips. "Of course you are you and not me," he said, bringing Tanner into a tight hug, though the boy struggled against it in protest. "I would want you the way you are…plus I don't think your Mother could handle another me around the house…"

"Then we both would be sleeping on the couch sometimes?" Tanner questioned, tilting his head back to look up at his papa.

His papa just looked down at him with a blank expression and then changed the subject. "Do you want something to eat?"

"No…" Tanner mumbled, licking his lips in thought. "Can I have coco instead? Mama gives me coco after cold days outside."

"Sure…but I don't even know if your Mother has started buying it yet," his papa answered, grabbing up Tanner in his arms and then slowly got out of the tub.

His papa then placed him on the tiled floor and there was a towel that was thrown over him, making Tanner's world go dark for a moment. Shifting around the large, fluffy towel, Tanner adjusted it so that it fit comfortably on his shoulders like a cape and then he looked up at his papa, seeing that he had his own towel, but wrapped around his hips. Tanner was curious on why he did that, but decided not to question his papa on it since he seemed busy with looking through the medicine cabinet, so Tanner tested it out for himself. It didn't work out too well in his opinion when he readjusted the towel to wrap around his hips. The thick fabric was too big, wrapping around his tiny form at least twice, maybe three times and the towel was also too long; there would be no way he could walk in this. Maybe it was just because the towel was too big or he was too small.

He hummed in thought at this, but then he felt someone watching him and he looked to the open doorway to see a green eyes staring at him.

It was Glory, the tiny tabby cat looking into the room curiously. Tanner had always loved Glory since the cat was easy for him to hold in his tiny four-year-old arms, plus, the tabby cat was fun to chase. With a giggle of delight, Tanner shot off like a bullet, forgetting the oversize towel completely on the ground and chased after the now frightened tabby cat.

"_Tanner!_" He heard his papa shout. "_Get back here!_"

Tanner of course didn't listen to him and continued to run, but it didn't take long for his papa to catch up, grab him, and then start to head back to the bathroom. Tanner started to sulk, whining wordlessly as he rested his chin against his papa's bare shoulder, but then his eyes locked onto the tabby cat that crawled out from under his parent's bed and he looked at the cat with his stare saying: _I'll get you next time_, and Glory promptly flew under the bed again.

* * *

The hot chocolate was placed before him and Tanner was more than happy to get his treat, but when he looked into the cup all he saw was the thick, milky brown liquid with wisps of white foam along the surface. "Where's the marshmallows?" He questioned as his papa was about to sit down with his cup of coffee.

"You don't need marshmallows," his papa replied, relaxing out in the thin cushions of the kitchen table seat. "There's already enough sugar in your drink."

Tanner pouted, sticking out his lower lip as he looked at his papa with large eyes.

His papa tried to ignore him, but Tanner's puppy dog stare always worked, which is why his papa had gotten up from his seat with a groan and crossed the room to the pantry. Sliding open the doors, his papa looked through the array of stored foods until he found what he was looking for and pulled out the marshmallow bag and then walked back over to the table. Then he pulled out a single marshmallow and plopped it into Tanner's drink.

It may have only been one marshmallow, but it was one of the gumbo ones and it filled out the entire opening to his plastic mug. Tanner's eyes went wide when he saw the size. "Mama usually gives me tiny ones," he commented, poking the large marshmallow in his drink.

"Don't play with your food," his papa scolded mildly, grabbing Tanner's hand and pulled it away from poking his marshmallow. "And it's the only kind your Mother had," he then answered and took a sip of his coffee.

Tanner stared at his papa for a moment and then shrugged; he would rather have a single big marshmallow than a few little ones, but he soon found out that big marshmallows aren't the best for having with hot coco. It was difficult to drink the coco with the large marshmallow in the way, so he had to take it out and eat it first then drink his coco, which was something he didn't like; he liked drinking the coco with the marshmallows at the same time. It was still good though, he could admit that, but it just wasn't the same.

When he was done, he slouched in his booster seat, feeling rather bored. He didn't want to be mean, but sometimes he papa could be rather boring at home since all he did was relax. That's why they always went out on Sundays; so his papa wouldn't be tempted to sit around all day. So, Tanner decided that it was up to him to figure out what they would to next, and that's when he looked at his empty mug and thought of his mama. "Can we go give Mama some coco?"

"Your Mother's at work," his papa replied, slowly getting up from the table and grabbed all the dirty dishes along the way and then headed to the sink.

"We can go visit her," Tanner suggested hopefully.

His papa was silent for a moment, just leaning against the counter at the sink, but then he said: "This would be a good chance to walk the dogs instead of doing it at night..."

Tanner knew that his papa agreed, which made him smile in delight that he was going to get to see his mama as well. Usually on Sundays, he didn't get to see his mama since that is the only day she worked, but visiting her and with papa, too; this would probably be the best day ever. So, his papa made another fresh cup of hot chocolate and poured it into a thermos so that it would stay warm for the walk to his mama's work. Then, his papa took him out of his booster and placed him on the ground where Tanner promptly rushed over to the table and pulled down the bag of gumbo marshmallows since he knew that his mama liked having them in her hot coco, too.

With all the things set, his papa placed all the items in a small backpack for Tanner since he had asked to carry them, for it was his idea, and then when all that was set, his papa bundled him up for the chilly weather then himself and then he gathered up the dogs for the walk. Since the hot chocolate and marshmallows were in a backpack, Tanner's hands were free and he pleaded to his papa if he could walk Loki because the puppy was just the right size for him. His papa didn't hesitant to give him the leash, maybe because his papa didn't like Loki, which at the moment, Tanner didn't mind since he got to walk the puppy.

As they made their way down the sidewalk, Loki was running all over the place unlike Bepo who was strolling calmly down the path. The little puppy was sniffing at everything he could and even though the puppy was small, he was stronger than he looked. He pulled Tanner around like a rag doll, making him stubble all over the place and when Tanner almost fell into the busy, car invested street, his papa decided that he would hold Tanner's hand that held the leash that way Tanner still got to walk Loki and his papa didn't have a heart attack.

Tanner was okay with that, mostly because they were almost at where his mama worked: Basil's Antiques. Tanner, for some reason, found the odd things inside to be rather interesting even though to other children his age would find it scary. There were all kinds of stuff in Mister Hawkins's store that Tanner liked, but he was never allowed to touch anything since his mama didn't want him breaking something. When the two dogs were tied up on a bike rack just outside the store, he and his papa went into the store, the dim lights making Tanner blink rapidly until he heard the familiar voice that belonged to his mama.

"What are you two doing here?" She questioned curiously from her spot behind the glass counter that held old jewels and pearls.

"_Mama!_" Tanner shouted, smiling brightly as he ran from his papa's side and over to where she was and he would have embraced her at the knees if the counter wasn't blocking his way. Once at the obstacle, he looked up, seeing his mama lean over so she could look down at him with a smile and she reached over to touch his cheek, brushing her thumb along his red tinted skin that was caused from the cold. He smiled even more, but then he remembered why he was there and he turned away from his mama's warmth for only a moment and pulled the bag from his back and took the thermos out. "We brought you coco."

"Really?" She mused sweetly, taking the thermos from his tiny hands gingerly. "That's very nice of you, Tanner," and she kissed the tips of her fingers and then patted his cheek, transferring her love for the thoughtful gift since she couldn't kiss him properly with the big glass counter in the way.

Tanner smiled, closing his eyes and his tiny hands held her soft one to his cheek; he always liked having his mama close to him.

"_Ahem_," there was a cough that came from his side, and Tanner looked up so see his papa was now standing beside him again at the counter. "I'm here, too, you know," was all he said.

"I noticed," his mama mused and then took her hand away from Tanner's cheek, much to his dismay, and then she placed it on his papa's cheek. "Thank you for bringing me hot chocolate," she said while patting his cheek.

His papa caught her hand, curling his fingers around hers and smirked. "You're welcome," he responded and leaned forward and kissed his mama on the lips.

Tanner just stood there watching, it was common for him to see his parents kiss, but it usually didn't lost _this_ long...and apparently his mama thought so too since her eyes opened wide and she pushed his papa away.

"_Law_," she gasped, looking at his papa in shock. "Not in front of Tanner!"

His papa rolled his eyes at the comment and then he looked down at him with a growing smirk. "Tanner..." he said slowly. "I heard that Mister Hawkins has rubber ducks in stock today."

"_Really?_" Tanner gasped in awe, his eyes going wide as a large smile appeared on his lips and he didn't need to be told twice as he dashed off further into the store, but then he stopped and looked over his shoulder when he heard his mama shout. Apparently she wasn't all too happy with his papa since he just jumped over the counter with grace so they were on the same side and then he brought her into a tight hug so that she couldn't look away from him.

Disinterest with what his parents were going to do, Tanner turned back towards the dark interior of the store and looked for the rubber duckys. As he moved along the aisles, he started to find the idea of bright yellow duckys in Mister Hawkins's store to be rather odd since the man had such strange things. The objects were collected from places all over the world, little tokens that hung on walls or vases with peculiar designs that wrapped around the delicate, old clay. There were even some masks, too. Large ones that had angry faces craved in the dark wood and with fake hair that was thick and light blonde sticking out of the sides.

Tanner personally didn't like the masks, they were somewhat creepy in his eyes, but he didn't let that bother him and he easily walked passed them in search for the rubber duckys, but then the scariest thing in his life happened.

One of the masks jumped from their spot on the wall right in front of him and screamed at him, making him shriek back in terror.

Through his long, high pitched cry, he was able to hear his mama scream his name, but also the name of his friend that supposedly was there, yet not.

His mama was the first to come to the scene, going down on her knees and wrapping her arms around him to protect him from harm, but the next person at the scene wasn't his papa, but rather Miss Gabriella. Her cheeks were red with rage, almost as red as her ginger hair, and she stomped over to the culprit and ripped the wooden masked off to reveal none other than her son, and also Tanner's unseen friend.

"_Eustass Roland Caden!_" Miss Gabriella barked in fury, placing her hands on her hips scoldingly. "How many times must I tell you to _stop_ scaring people with the masks. Just look what you did to poor Tanner!" And she jabbed a finger in the direction of the quivering boy in his mama's arms.

Caden simply smirked up at his mother with the grin he inherited from his father. "Force of habit," the six year old said, shaking his head lightly to toss the locks of ginger hair from his golden eyes.

Miss Gabriella sighed deeply and just pulled Caden over so he was standing in front of her. "Say you're sorry," she ordered, placing her hands on his shoulders firmly so Caden couldn't run away.

"Sorry..." Caden grumbled, looking down at his feet with a scowl.

Tanner simply nodded, mumbling quietly that it was okay. Tanner didn't have many friends except for Caden and Daniel, even though they were two years older than him, but they were the first children he met so he considered them friends. Though, he would admit he and Caden didn't get along all too well at times...

"Again, I'm sorry about this, Ameria," Miss Gabriella apologized, still holding down her son from running off again. "He may have gotten my looks, but he has his father's brutish personality."

"I agree to that," the new voice of his papa came to ear, and Tanner looked up to see his papa was leaning comfortably against a wall. "That smirk of his just screams Kidd."

"Yes, and he definitely screams like Kidd, too," Miss Gabriella scoffed, rolling her eyes at the comment. "Sometimes I wish I had a baby girl."

"_Hey!_" Caden snapped in offense, looking up at his mother with wide eyes.

"I never said I wish I didn't have you," Miss Gabriella countered, grabbing up her son's hand, much to his dismay. "Now, let's go to the backroom. I'm sure you haven't finished your homework yet," and at the mention of schoolwork, Caden began to groan obnoxiously and he tried hard to get away, but his mother's grip was like iron and kept him in place. But before Miss Gabriella disappeared, she looked over and said with a wink: "Take the rest of the day off, Ameria. I'll cover for you," and then she was gone.

* * *

"I can't believe you didn't put him down for a nap, Law."

"He's fine."

"But he still needs a nap. He's a growing boy!"

"Ameria, he's fine."

"Does he look fine to you?"

"Actually, yes, he does. Thank you for asking."

"Do you want to sleep on the couch tonight?"

"..."

"That's what I thought."

As his parents bickered back and forth about him, Tanner started to tune them out quickly and just watched as Loki tried to chase Bepo around, but the large canine wouldn't go at the speed the little puppy wanted him to. Bepo was walking at a leisurely pace around the trees, trying his best to ignore the little, yappy puppy running circles around him and it was only when Loki nipped Bepo on his hind leg did the large dog finally had enough and barked at him loudly, making Loki dash away in fright.

Then Loki found something new to chase: the ducks.

Since his mama got to leave work early, Tanner got to pick where they went next, which was the nearby park. It was smaller than the one he usually went to with his papa, but it was closer and it still had duckys at least. Tanner was excited to go to the park with both of his parents, which was a rare thing to happen for him, but for some reason his mama wanted to stop by the bakery. His papa didn't question why, so neither did Tanner and they had both just waited patiently for his mama to come back out with a bag that smelled of fresh bread.

Once they actually got to the park, Tanner started to feel rather sleepy, which brought up the conversation about him not having his daily nap, but his papa usually didn't put him down for a nap on Sundays, so Tanner was used to it by now and was able to push through. Though his mama wasn't, so she sat down on an open bench and scooped him up in her arms and then placed him on her lap so he could rest his eyes, but he knew she wanted him to sleep before his chance of taking a midday nap was up. But he bunkered down and refused to fall asleep, so he decided that maybe he should eat something.

While his parents were preoccupied, he stuck his hand into the bakery bag to see if he could get a little snack, but his sneaky act didn't slip past his mama.

"No, Tanner," she said softly, grabbing his hand and pulled it away. "That bread is for the ducks."

When the keyword of ducks was said, he piped up, his eyes opening wide and he turned to look up at his mama.

"I had the idea that we could feed the ducks because I know you love them," she explained, placing a hand to his head and stroked his hair. "But I didn't know you didn't take a nap today," and she shot a glare in the direction of his papa, and his papa just shrugged, and then his mama sighed. "Looks like we will have to wait another day."

Tanner didn't like the idea. He may be young, but he knew that this was a once in a life time chance to feed the ducks with _both_ of his parents and not just one or the other. So he struggled to break free of his mama's grasp and when he was successful, he jumped down from her lap and pulled at her hand to make her stand up. She sighed again, but with a smile as she got up and grabbed the bag of bread with her and then his papa got up along with her.

Tanner was thrilled, never before had he fed the ducks with his mama and papa together and he couldn't wait. When they walked closer to the pack of ducks, his mama opened the bag of bread, releasing the aroma into the air and all the ducks heads turned in unison. Then they waddled over in a storm, quaking quickly along the way and Tanner stood there shell shocked as all the ducks came running to him since his mama had given him a small piece of bread.

He thought he was going to be eaten alive by the pack of ducks, but then strong hands scooped him up and he was in his papa's arms, high and away from the mob of ducks around their feet. From his perch above the ground, Tanner was able to feed the ducks happily without the fear of being run over and he took his time with each piece of beard he was given, tearing off smaller pieces and then throwing them in different directions, not because he wanted to make sure all the ducks were fed, but because he didn't want this moment to end.

He liked having time with both of his parents at the same time, he barely got the comfort and it was nice when he got it. Like when his papa would come home early for dinner because Uncle Justice took his shift at the hospital or when his papa didn't have to go to work until noon, but those days were rare, just like this one. And Tanner didn't want it to end, and he almost cried when the last piece of bread was gone and they all went home.

But in the end, Tanner didn't have to worry because his parents decided that they would try and feed the ducks as a family every Sunday.


End file.
